Evil's Recourse
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Sequel to Trials of A Guardian. A reverse look on Knuckles past. This time the Guardians are the enemies and the Legionaries are the heroes. Can Shadow and Knuckles both stop this climatic battle before the Guardians revive Enerjak? Find Out! Please R&
1. Chapter 1: A New Danger

**Evil's Recourse**

**By: Phoenix Ride**

**Ch.1: A New Danger**

It was another dull, boring day in Sonic's world just waiting for the next disaster to strike. Ever since Shadow had become Knuckles little 'Guardian' in training, Eggman was working fever pitch inside the Eggman Empire, to design a new weapon that would finally end it for Sonic and his friends.

Endless weeks of drawing up blueprints, endless toil to bring up the design, now was the time. Finally his time to get revenge on Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Emerald Cannon had to be his greatest invention ever. Capable to destroy entire mountians with just a single blast. Now all he needed was a power source. And that's where the tricky part came in.

Now, with both Shadow and Knuckles taking turns to watch over Angel Island Eggman couldn't so much as go near the place, let alone steal something from it.

And since he couldn't hire help, Eggman was scouring his screens for any weakness in Angel Island, anything at all, when a sudden large blast knocked at his door.

Near one of the walls, Decoe, Boco, and Bokkun were sitting at a table playing 'Go Fish' when the sudden blast shattered the wall behind him, and sent the three robots hurtling through the room.

Through the small cloud of dust, Eggman could make out a large number of dark figures standing in the newly made opening, their eyes gleaming an evil shade of white.

"Grrr" growled Eggman " you won't get away from breaking into my base. Decoe! Boco! Attack!"

"Yes Doctor," said the two robots and immediately ran to face the new foes, each enetering into a different karate stance.

The invaders weren't impressed by the robots attempts however, and just blasted them where the stood. Bokkun got scared at the sight of his friends destruction and flew off like the little coward he was.

With no more robots to protect him, and his Emerald Cannon useless without power, Eggman backed in fear, helpless with no way to escape.

The last thing the Doctor every saw a blast of light, and then he plummeted into darkness.

"Hmph" muttered one of the invaders once the Doctor was down " pitiful resistance. It's a wonder the Dark Legion manages to keep itself alive,"

"This isn't the Dark Legion fool" muttered another invader " just look at that pathetic weakling on the floor. He's a creature we've never seen,"

"I thought this would happen" muttered a third invader, obiviously the leader " the chaos charge was to much to handle, so we ended up in another dimension,"

"Yes" said the second invader " and in the process our Master and his Emerald have been damaged. We have no way of returning back to our own time,"

"Yeah" said the first invader " well neither does the Legion if they got transported here with us. Guess its just time to start building a new empire,"

Soon, both the invaders grew distracted when they noticed their leader approaching one of the screens lit up in Eggman's lair. On it was a picture of Angel Island, peaceful and not burned.

"It can't be" said the first invader " another Angel Island?"

"If we're in a seperate dimension like we suspect" said the second invader " it only makes sense,"

"But who's guarding it?" asked the first invader " surely there's not more echidnas in this dimension, or even another us?"

"I don't know" said the second invader " do you even think our Master could be up there?"

"There's only one way to know for sure" said the third invader, finally coming out of his trance " we must travel there at once. Bring the creature's cannon, it could be useful for later,"

And with that said, the three dark invaders left, making their way to Angel Island, chaos on their minds. Leaving the pathetic Doctor behind, breathing for his life.


	2. Chapter 2: The Flipside of Fate

**Ch.2: The Flipside of Fate**

Meanwhile, in another part of Mobius, Shadow the Hedgehog was having a strange dream.

He was standing on a shaking road being broken up by an earthquake as two powerful forces battled each other in the sky. Sonic and the others were there too, and were getting blasted by some unseen force.

Suddenly the dream shifted, leaving Shadow on Angel Island to see Knuckles guarding the Master Emerald like he always did, and get killed by a chaos burst by the very item he protected the most.

The sound of Rouge's concerned voice soon broke the black and red hedgehog out of his dream. Shadow was annoyed, but relieved to finally be awake.

"Rise and shine Shadow" said Rouge " time for another day at work. You don't look like you have gotten much sleep,"

"That's because I haven't" said Shadow " I keep on having these strange dreams, it's been distracting me from my work,"

"Sounds like you need to go to professional then" said Rouge " I'm no expert, but if a dream repeats itself it must mean something,"

"Any sugguestions?" asked Shadow.

"Hmm" Rouge thought for a second then said out loud " maybe Knuckles can lend a hand. He's used to getting visions and stuff,"

"Hmph" said Shadow, crossing his arms " you're sure you just want to see him again because of your crush?"

"Back off Shadow" said Rouge " or you may get hurt,"

Shadow just shrugged his shoulders indicating that he didn't really care.

"Fine" said Shadow " we'll go look for Knuckles after our shift is done. Nothing been happening much anyway,"

Suddenly the alarms on both Shadow and Rouge's bracelets began to sound, meaning G.U.N. had spotted trouble somewhere in the city. Rouge grinned at Shadow.

"You were saying?" said Rouge.

Shadow didn't dignify her with a response, in a flash he was gone.

* * *

><p>In downtown Mobius the streets were already in chaos. Citizens were fleeing in all directions, screaming at the tops of their lungs. A dark figure stood holding a gun, the source of all the people's terror.<p>

When Shadow and Rouge arrived on the scene to face this mysterious adversary, their widened in surprise when they spotted an unknown female echidna that looked half-flesh, half-metal.

Another echidna? That just wasn't possible!

Shadow had little time to ponder over the situation however when the girl echidna spotted him and Rouge, once again firing her gun. Both agents instantly dodged, and Shadow sped quickly towards his assailint.

Taken by surprise, the girl echidna fired off a few more rounds, before Shadow dove into her and knocked the gun out of her hands. Quickly, the girl echidna recovered from Shadow's attack and made grab for weapon which Rouge then smashed with a drill dive.

"Not so fast honey" mocked Rouge " you have some questions to answer first,"

" You're not the boss of me," said the echidna.

"Then I'll make myself one," said Shadow from behind her, making the girl echidna jump up with fright.

"Who are you?" asked Shadow, now that he had the girl's attention.

"The name's Julie-Su" said the echidna " and just who you are supposed to be?"

"My name is Shadow" said Shadow " and she is Rouge. Now that the introductions are over, I sugguest you explain why you were shooting at a few harmless citizens, as well your being here at all,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Julie-Su.

"Well you see here Jules" said Rouge " there's one echidna everybody knows around here. And to see another one around is just begging to bring questions,"

"Oh that darn chaos surge" said Julie-Su " I must have got sent to another dimension. You say there's only one echidna here? Which one?"

"His name is Knuckles," said Shadow.

"Knuckles?" gasped Julie-Su in surprise. Of all the names, why did it have to be his?


	3. Chapter 3: Unlikely Alliance

**Ch.3: Unlikely Alliance **

Meanwhile, at Sonic's house, the blue hedgehog was just spending the day relaxing on the roof of his house, basking in the sun. tails was in his workshop working on improvements to the X Tornado, and Amy, Cream, and Cheese were having a little picnic in the front lawn.

It was one of those days where no expected to run into any surprises. Well, that peace didn't last long.

The sound of a scream suddenly broke through the joyful solace, making everyone look towards the sky, their eyes widening in surprise as a screaming robot crashed down into the ground.

Hopping up from their activities, everyone gathered at Sonic's house ran up to the injured robot, somewhat surprised to see it was Bokkun. Bokkun's yellow eyes immediately lit up with delight when he saw Sonic.

"Oh yes, yes!" creid Bokkun, immediately clutching Sonic's leg " I found you at last,"

"What's going on?" asked Sonic, shaking the robot off his foot.

"The Doc's in trouble" said Bokkun " our base has been attacked. I fled to get help. I don't even know if the Doctor's alright,"

"Who would want to attack Eggman?" said Tails.

"Several people," said Sonic.

"How do we know that this isn't some sort of trick?" said Amy, accusingly to Bokkun " he probably made up all of that stuff about Eggman just to lure us into a trap, am I right?"

Bokkun whimpered and started to cry, good and loud. Everyone instantly covered their ears from pain.

"Ok, ok" yelled Sonic " we believe you already, now stop with the crying!"

Bokkun instantly stopped, his pleading eyes turning desperately towards Sonic.

"Eh" said Sonic with relief " let's get over there,"

A short ride in the X Tornado later, and Sonic and his friends were entering the gates of the Eggman Empire. Shock meeting their eyes as soon as they landed at the base.

The entire complex had been destroyed! Shredded shards of metal had been flung everywhere. And Decoe and Bocoe...well...it was best not to talk about it.

Lying under a bundle of rubble himself lay the infamous Dr. Eggman, beaten and unconious. No matter how great of enmey they were to each other, Sonic immediately rushed over to help.

Amy, Cream, and Cheese gasped, while Tails steadily checked over the fallen doctor's wounds.

"Is he going to be alright Tails?" asked Sonic.

"I think so" said Tails , looking up " he just needs a few days of rest,"

"Who would do this to him?" asked Sonic, when suddenly he felt a slight stir from the unconious body. Eggman's eyes soon fluttered open, some shock to see who was there.

"Sonic?" whispered Eggman.

"Yeah" said Sonic " Bokkun told us what happened,"

"I thought that there was only one, but there were more" said Eggman " they stole my cannon. They stole my cannon. You have to get it back before they find the emeralds. Before they find...,"

"Knuckles!" Amy suddenly gasped in realization " Oh my gosh, Knuckles is in danger!"

"But from who?" asked Tails.

"There's no time to wonder that now" said Sonic " Girls, you take Eggman and Bokkun back to the house and patch them up. Me and Tails will head up to warn Knuckles,"

And with that said, Sonic and Tails ran off, a new adventure awaiting them just beyond the next rise.


	4. Chapter 4: Vector Takes A Dive

**Ch.4: Vector Takes A Dive**

A lazy afternoon breeze drifted through the air of Angel Island, as Knuckles sat there alone at the altar, baking in the glow of the Master Emerald. Completely unaware of the excitement about to greet his doorstep.

His voilet gaze floated to the sky waiting for Shadow to take his nightly watch, while mind tumbled over these visions that have been occuring. Every one of them the same.

The Master Emerald was going haywire. Sonic and Shadow appeared beaten and lifeless on a cracked ground. And a dark figure floated eeriely in the sky.

Knuckles didn't quite know what these visions meant, but he was pretty sure Shadow was feeling them as well.

"Shadow?" thought Knuckles, looking at the white mark, on his wrist, that bonded him and the hedgehog " what could we be seeing?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on another part of Angel Island, Espio, Charmy, and Vector were busy tossing a frisbee back and forth, with Charmy acting like the monkey in the middle.<p>

After minutes of going up and down between throws, Charmy finally managed to catch the frisbee and Espio was out of the game.

As Espio walked over to sit down Vector called out to Charmy.

"Alright Charmy!" yelled Vector " give me a big one!"

"OK," said Charmy, and threw disc, which just kept sailing through the air.

"Ah!" growled Vector, as he ran after the lost frisbee " Charmy you idiot!"

"What?" yelled Charmy " you said to throw a big one,"

Espio just slapped a hand to his forhead.

The embrassing moment was suddenly shattered when a scream of terror shot through the air. Espio and Charmy's bodies were immediately on the alert.

"Vector!" they yelled, and ran where the croc had fled.

When they reached the deep gorge Knuckles had told them about before playing, that's when Charmy noticed their frisbee next to the hole. However, there was no Vector in sight.

"Vec where are you?" shouted Espio.

"Down here what do think!" Vector shouted back from the gorge.

Looking down, Espio and Charmy could clearly see Vector clutching desperately to the side of the cliff.

"Knuckles said there was cracks like this" said Vector " I just wish I paid more attention to where they were,"

"Vector's to heavy for me to fly out of that narrow gorge" said Charmy " I'll go back to see if Knuckles can help,"

With that said the bee flew off to retrieve the Guardian, unaware that three other sets of eyes were watching this strange situation.

"Knuckles" said one invader " so my son is alive after all,"

"In this dimension it appears to be so" said a second invader " though that doesn't mean he's the same master we know,"

"True" said a third invader " if he allows foolish primitives like these to survive,"

"Then we shall make him our master again" said the first invader " and these fools will lead us to him,"

With that said, Locke hopped out of the brush he had been hiding in, with Remington and Specture following behind.

Down in the gorge, Vector could feel his grip begin to slip.

"They'd better get soon or else!" thought Vector, his grip lessening more.

Espio never felt so helpless watching from above. Surely nothing would have taken Charmy and Knuckles this long.

Then, all of the sudden, an unexpected surprise reached out to help, and Espio's mouth went agape.

The chameleon wasn't the only one surprised, Vector got a shock too. Enough so to lose his grip, only to be caught and carried to safety by three mysterious visitors.

It was at that moment that Charmy and Knuckles finally arrived, with a rope tucked in Charmy's right arm. Both stood shocked with fright when they saw the same figures their team mates were seeing.

Three different, impossibly alive echidnas, with crescent marks on their chests, and one whose face was all to familair with Knuckles.

"Hello Knuckles," said Locke.

"Father?" gasped Knuckles.


	5. Chapter 5: A Tainted Legacy

**Ch.5: A Tainted Legacy**

**Meanwhile, inside G.U.N. Headquarters, Julie-Su found herself in a lonely interogation room sitting down with a stern looking Shadow and Rouge standing in front of her, questions burning in their eyes.**

**"Alright" said Shadow, speaking first " time for some answers. Why did you freak out like that when we mentioned Knuckles name? And why are you even here?"**

**"Before I answer that question I have something to ask you first" said Julie-Su " how much does your world actually know of our kind?"**

**" Only that Knuckles is the last survivor in charge of guarding a gaint rock," said Rouge.**

**"The Master Emerald" sighed Julie-Su " a curse amongst our people,"**

**Before Shadow could ask what Julie-Su meant, the pink echidna pulled out a shining black shard from one of her pockets. Its faint, yet eerie energy instantly flowing through the room.**

**There was no question in either Shadow or Rouge's mind about what the shard was. It could only be a part of the Master Emerald. But why was it so black?**

**Taking a deep breath, Julie-Su explianed her tale from the begining.**

* * *

><p><strong>Once, during a more peaceful time, lived a thriving city known as Echidnapolis. The power of the Master and Chaos Emeralds was a great blessing on the land, giving birth to a thriving society.<strong>

**However, Knuckles father, Locke, was faced with a terrible crisis. His wonderful wife Lara-Le had just given birth to a son, but he was dreadfully sick, and wouldn't last past morning.**

**In desperation to save his heir, Locke exposed his newly born son to the Emeralds, which graciouslly healed him from his afflictions ad allowed him to live.**

**However, as a result to this miracle, Knuckles had been mutated with a few special abilities found nowhere else in the Echinda Clan. Possessing powers only others could dream of.**

**One scienetist named Dr. Frivetous was amazed by Knuckles abilities and decided to do some tests on the Emeralds so that he could replicate the results in future Guardian lines. The Brotherhood immediately agreed to his experiments, for they were curious as well.**

**Back when Julie-Su first met Knuckles, he was full of life and ready for adventure, and she could instantly tell that she was going to have great times with this echidna.**

**Those great times never came though once the duo had reached their teenage years.**

**Dr. Frivetous's experiments had gone horribly wrong, reversing the entire flow of Chaos Energy. Switching it from a postive force to something negative and nasty.**

**The echindas who felt the most pain were the Guardians. Knuckles worst of all. Julie-Su still had a tough time imagining Knuckles horrible scream. It was like something from a horror movie.**

**All of the Guardians were now turned as evil as the gem they were sworn to protect. And becuase of his close connection to the Emeralds, Knuckles became the most vicious of them all.**

**The entire city of Echidnapolis was destroyed in a manner of days, with very few surviving the holocaust.**

**One sciencetist who had been helping during the Emerald experiments named Professor Dimitri had just barely managed to escape the now evil grip of his brother Locke, and led the few surviving citizens to a safe place where he could work on a solution to stop this tyranical rule.**

**Dr. Frivetous had managed to escape the chaos as well, and joined forces with Dimitri bringing birth to the Dark Legion.**

**With the two sciencetists working overtime, many attempts were soon made to stop Dark Knuckles and his army of Guardians. Many lives were lost, and those who were severely injured were forced to get their parts replaced by machines.**

**Things seemed lost, but the information they kept on gathering about Knuckles and his army only served to make the Legion stronger. Soon, both professors were working on a suit of armor that would become capable of harnessing the powers of Chaos itself. An equal match for their deadly foe.**

**However, they were forced to try it early, for once it was complete, the Guardians decided to attack.**

**Knuckles had never looked more fierce as he led his troops into battle. The smile of innocence was gone, as was the joyous moments of a cheerful life. Now all those eyes sought was destruction.**

**Dimitri quickly donned what he and Dr. Frivetous had named the Enerjak armor and charged off to face Knuckles while the Legionares faced off with the Guardians below, praying that their plan would work.**

**The Master Emerald shined on the battlefield too. It was always carried around by the Guardians as a symbol to their power, casting its dark shadows on the severed ground.**

**Knuckles pratically glowed in the Emerald's presence, feeling stronger than he ever was with the gem by his side.**

**Chaos rained throughout the battles as Knuckles and Dimitri clashed, the earth burning and breaking beneath their feet. Neither one giving an inch.**

**Down below, carefully avoiding the chaos raining down from above. Julie-Su made her way over to the Master Emerald, knowing full well that it was the source of Knuckles and the other Guardians strentgh.**

**Locke saw the threat approaching his gem and ran to stop Julie-Su. But he arrived to late as the pink echidna took out a dagger and chipped off a small shard of the Dark Master Emerald.**

**Pain surged through all the Guardians once the cut was made, with Knuckles feeling like he just got shot through the heart. Dimitri saw his chance, and started powering up his Enerjak armor to maximum.**

**Channeling all of the power he possessed, Dimitri fired a pure beam of chaos energy straight at Knuckles. Unfortunately, Knuckles saw the attack coming and fired his own as well. The two attacks met their mark, each doing major damage to their opponents.**

**Shock could be felt throughout the battlefield as all the warrioirs watched the two titans fall. The Guardians immedaitely rushed towards Knuckles, while the Legionarres grabbed Dimitri and dragged him away from the fight.**

**The armor was removed as soon as they got back to the base. and Dimitri was placed in a medical chamber to stabalize his critical condition.**

**It was a sad time for the Legion, but with that saddness came new hope, thanks to the Master Emerald shard Julie-Su had managed to obtain, Dr. Frivetous was sure he could find a solution that would make things work for the better.**

**So endlessly, for the next few days, Dr. Frivetous worked furiously in his lab building a time machine so that he could travel back in time and warn himself that pursuing with the Emerald experiments was a bad idea.**

**However, when the machine was finally complete that's when the Guardians decided to attack again, in order to avenge their fallen leader.**

**Julie-Su fought them off as long as she could while Dr. Frivetous activated the machine, but something went terribly wrong.**

**During the scuffle Julie-Su had with the Guardians, she had lured them to close to the machine, directly in front of the shard's path. A great dark light engulfed them immediately.**

**When the light vanished, Julie-Su found herself waking up in a strange world with the blackened shard right beside her. The Guardians were nowhere in sight.**

* * *

><p><strong>"And when I saw some strange creatures that didn't look like echidna" said Julie-Su " I just freaked out and attacked,"<strong>

**Shadow and Rouge were silent for several moments digesting Julie-Su's tale until Shadow decided to speak.**

**"Did these Guardians come with you?" asked Shadow, his red eyes narrowing on Julie-Su.**

**" I don't know" said Julie-Su " Maybe. The shard came with me sure enough, but I don't know about the others. Dr. Frivetous could even be here,"**

**" If that's the case" said Rouge " then we have a lot more trouble to deal with,"**

**"We'll have to tell Knuckles of this right away" said Shadow " who knows what these guys are capable of,"**

**"I'll come along too" said Julie-Su " you guys made need me,"**

**" I'll inform the General right away," said Rouge, immediately turning on her communicator to request a ship. **

**A great disaster was coming, and they all had to be ready to face it.**


	6. Chapter 6: False Lies

**Ch.6: False Lies**

Meanwhile, back on Angel Island, the Chaotix stared in shock at the three echidnas now standing before them. One of which happening to be Knuckles father, that was miraculously still alive.

Both Vector and Espio knew that Locke and the other echidnas were supposed to be dead. Killed off by the Dark Legion years ago. Isn't that what the Master Emerald showed them? Then how were these three alive.

The same question was floating around in Knuckles mind. This simply couldn't be. And that, he realized, was the answer all along.

" You're not my real father are you?" said Knuckles, crossing his arms.

"Clever as always I see" said Locke " you're right, I'm not. In fact, none of us are. My real son is dying in our home dimension. We were brought here by mistake,"

" Huh" breathed Charmy in shock " your Knuckles is dying?"

" Maybe you should explain things from the beginning," said Espio.

And with that, the Guardians began their tale. Sort of reverse from the tale that Julie-Su told.

Instead, they explained that in their homeland that the Dark Legion got jealous of the Guardians power, and decided to take it for themselves, making a powerful piece of armor in order to claim their prize.

Knuckles fought off the attackers bravely, but was badly injured during the fight, and layed dying on the ground. To make matters worse, a piece of the Master Emerald was stolen and they had no way to heal Knuckles wounds.

"We tried our best to get it back" said Locke " but something went wrong and we ended up in this dimension. If we don't find that Emerald piece, my son is going to die,"

For a good long moment, the Chaotix stood silently absorbing the Guardians tale, and Knuckles looked over solemnly at the duplicate version of is father.

"I have to help them find that missing piece" thought Knuckles " I just can't let my other self die,"

"Where do we look?" asked Knuckles, looking at Locke.

Locke grinned, and pointed East towards the city.

"Over there" said Locke " We must retrieve it quickly from Dark Legion before they can pull off more devilish deeds,"

"Not only that" said Remington " but we'll need it to get home. The Master won't be pleased if we fail,"

"Master?" wondered Vector, curiously in his mind, as Knuckles shouted out orders to the Chaotix and they all split up to search.

Something didn't ring right in the croc's mind once he heard Remington mention that word. There was almost a dark feeling attached to it, as if it held some sinister meeting.

"Something screwy is going on here" thought Vector " and as a detective, its my job to figure it out,"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Sonic and the gang landed upon Angel Island, put couldn't find Knuckles or the Chaotix anywhere.<p>

"That's strange" said Sonic, a little worried " it couldn't be time for Shadow's shift,"

"It's not," said Shadow, suddenly surprising the Sonic gang by appearing with Rouge and Julie-Su " Where's Knuckles, I need to speak to him?"

"He's not here" said Tails " Maybe the Chaotix convinced him to go on a trip,"

"Who's that with you?" asked Amy.

"It's not important right now" said Rouge " We can explain everything later. But right now we need to find Knuckles before…,"

" Too late!" shouted out a voice, making everyone look up to the trees.

A smirking Espio suddenly appeared, with an evil grin painted on his face. An eerie, black glow shined over his scales like flames, and his fierce, yellow eyes pierced with light.

"You will not stop what is meant to be" growled Espio, bringing out his kunai knives as he jumped down from the tree " The Master will be reborn, and the Guardians will reign,"

His threat made, Espio charged out to attack, eyes cold and hungry, lusting for blood.


	7. Chapter 7: Sinister Specture

**Ch.7: Sinister Specture**

Moving fast, Shadow and Sonic pushed the others out of the way, just as the kunai knives embedded themselves to the ground. Espio turned up the speed, heading for Shadow first.

Seeing the incoming attack, Shadow dodged just as Espio kicked and landed a hard right punch to the chameleon's neck. Espio was down, but not for long,

Swishing out his tail like a whip, Espio his scaly apendhedge around Shadow's neck, making it difficult for the black and red hedgehog to breath.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Rouge, spinning into Espio with a drill kick.

"Get him!" yelled Sonic, and everyone dog-piled on the chameleon.

"What's wrong with him?" said Amy, struggling to keep Espio down.

"The Guardians" said Julie-Su, looking up " they're already here,"

"Right you are you little theif," said an eerie voice, and suddenly the whole land started to fill up with fog.

Shadow shot his scarlet eyes upwards, and peered, making out a shadowy image in the fog.

"Who's that?" asked Sonic, seeing what Shadow was seeing.

"Specture," growled Julie-Su.

"In person" said the echidna with a cloak " I see you have incarcerated my servant, but no matter, the plan moves on,"

"What have you done with Knuckles?" asked Sonic.

"Hehheh" laughed Specture " wouldn't you like to know,"

"Enough of this!" said Julie-Su, pulling out her gun. Without a second thought she fired it at Specture.

Specture wasn't moved and vanished into the fog. Everyone's eyes were instantly alert, wondering where the echidna had gone.

"Where is he?" asked Tails.

Silence gripped the air as tension squeezed the blood. The mysterious echidna could appear anywhere in this fog, and they wouldn't know it until it was to late.

Rouge stood still and twisted her ears, trying to detect the slightest sound, but all of Espio's fussing with Amy was really making hard to concentrate.

"Can't you get him to be quieter!" yelled Rouge.

"Gladly," said Amy, and knocked Espio out with a solid whack from her hammer.

As soon as Espio was silenced, Rouge could hear sharp movement in the fog.

"Sonic behind…uh!" started Rouge, before she was knocked hard onto the ground.

"Wee!" shouted the familiar voice of Charmy " that was fun!"

"What the OW!" shouted Amy, as a gun blasted her side.

"Amy!" shouted Sonic in worry, things were getting numerously one-sided in this fight.

" It's not just Specture" said Julie-Su " he's brought friends,"

"That's right" said Specture, suddenly appearing out of the fog " Angel Island is ours to control. The Guardian will be turned, and people will bow to our demand,"

"Guardian?" thought Shadow, then looked down at the glowing white mark on his arm. The mark that signified him as co-Guardian. A sinister smirk lit on Shadow's face.

"Attack!" shouted Specture, and Charmy and Remington charged forward.

Shadow immediately moved in to fend them off, all the while repeating Knuckles guardian chant over in his mind.

_"__The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power enriched by the heart._

_ Master Emerald, grant me your strength to remove this enemy from Angel Island,"_

Far away, at the altar, the Master Emerald glowed, and the white mark on Shadow's arm grew brighter.

Feeling the pure essence of power flowing through his veins, Shadow called up all his energy and started attacking the invading force.

Sonic and the others stood stunned as they watched Shadow, all of his training with Knuckles had really improved his skills. Specture and his crew barely got a chance to blink before they were kicked and punched.

"Impossible," said Remington, as he struggled to get up.

"Who are you?" hissed Specture.

" My name is Shadow" said Shadow " I'm the ultimate life form, and Knuckles heir,"

"What?!" shouted Julie-Su, along with Specture and his gang.

"This is an unfortunate phase" said Specture " enjoy your victory now, for it will not last,"

With that said, Specture disappeared into the fog, along with Remington and Charmy, the unconscious Espio was left behind. As soon as they were out of sight, the fog lifted, and eyes could see daylight again.

"Well that was strange," said Sonic.

"At least they're finally gone," said Tails.

"Is the shard still safe?" asked Shadow, looking at Julie-Su.

"Let me check," said the echidna, and went diving through her pockets. A look of alarm suddenly lit up her face.

There was no sign of the gem anywhere! The Black Master Emerald shard was gone!

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, deep within the dark confines of an abandoned warehouse, a painful groan escaped from a croc's lips as his red eyes slowly opened to the dreary environment.<p>

Metal could be felt grasped around his wrists, cutting deep into the flesh. Struggling to sit upright, Vector turned his eyes around to see where he was, and found himself locked in a cage.

"Where am I?" thought Vector in his mind, and then his eyes widened in shock when he noticed a horrible sight hanging just outside the steel bars.

There was Knuckles, knocked out and chained against the wall, with a large cannon pointing directly at his chest.

Locke sat evilly at the controls, and the shot the parallel version of his son with a sinister grin.

"Soon my boy" thought Locke " we'll be family again."


	8. Chapter 8: Turn To Darkness

**Ch.8: Turn To Darkness**

"Oh" said Julie-Su " this isn't good. Now that they have the shard, they can revive Enerjak and rain destruction on the world,"

"All this because Knuckles turns evil?" said Rouge " Great,"

"Hold on a second" said Sonic " put me in the loop here. These guys who attacked Eggman and stole his cannon turn out to be part of Knuckles kind, Guardians to precise. And yet they're trying to turn Knuckles evil to destroy the world?"

"That may happen" said Shadow " but we're not going to let it. I'm a Guardian too, and it's my job to protect the Master Emerald as well as Knuckles,"

With that said, Shadow sped off towards the Master Emerald's altar, an idea forming in his mind. Sonic and the others trailed behind. While running, Julie-Su looked towards Rouge.

"How did Shadow become a Guardian anyway?" asked Julie-Su.

"Didn't you hear Shadow honey" said Rouge " Knuckles chose him as his heir. If you want the full details, ask Shadow yourself,"

It didn't take long to make it to the altar, and to see the bright, green stone glowing at the top. Shadow quietly calmed his rage, and walked up the steps.

"I wonder why the Guardians didn't steal the Master Emerald why they were here," said Tails, as Amy came up behind with the unconscious Espio.

"Yeah" said Amy " that does seem pretty dumb,"

" They wouldn't need a second emerald" said Julie-Su " Plus, this one doesn't have the dark energy they need,"

"But it will have what I need," said Shadow, and began to chant. The white mark on his arm glowed with intensity.

"Please Knuckles" said Shadow in his mind " tell me where you are!"

* * *

><p>However, at that moment, Knuckles didn't know where he was. As his dreary eyes woke up to the darkness of the warehouse, all he became aware of was the cannon to his chest, and the evil looks glaring from three dark Guardians.<p>

Wicked smiles lit up each of their faces as Specture deposited the black chaos shard into the Emerald Cannon. Locke stood ready behind the controls, and Charmy floated nearby guarding the injured form of a caged Vector.

Vector looked up at Knuckles and shared the horror shining in his friend's eyes. Neither one could believe that this was happening to them.

"They plan to Knuckles dark like they did Charmy and Espio I'm sure" thought Vector " But why are they keeping me unturned? Why do I have to suffer and watch this?"

"The time has come" said Locke, grinning up at Knuckles " Soon, I shall have my son again,"

"You'll never get me to join you!" snapped Knuckles.

"Oh, I don't plan on it" said Locke " you're merely the tool to revive my real son!"

"Fire!" shouted Remington, and with that Locke activated the Emerald Cannon.

A dark blast of suddenly shot out of the cannon and collided with Knuckles, wrapping up the ensnared echidna with tendrils of black energy.

Knuckles blood felt as if it was on fire, and every hair stood on end as he struggled to keep his mouth shut to silence the screams. It was as if his soul was being ripped apart, stripped to the fiber of what used to be its core.

The Guardians grins only grew wider at the sight of Knuckles pain, loving the fact that the echidna was slow to succumb. Vector wanted to break through the cage bars with all he had to put an end to his friend's suffering, but before he could get the chance, something odd happened.

The Guardians started to chant, and Knuckles war to keep silent had finally failed in its fight. As his scream tore through with a banshee's cry, the Guardians chanting grew louder, and Vector could make out a strange hole starting to form in the ceiling.

Soon, the roof seemed to be no longer there, and nothing but a dark purple shroud painted the sky. A dark figure could be seen sleeping in the purple haze, it's eyes awakening to the strange words of the Guardians chants.

Terror surged through Vector's soul the moment he saw the evil in those crimson eyes. These were the true eyes of a monster. A predator, with no regard for life.

Knuckles saw the eyes as well, even while struggling from the pain, His blood froze like, staring into a face eerie similar to his.

A dark hand reached through the void, and hovered over the chained echidna, hanging like a dark cloud.

"Now" called out an eerie voice " The time has come for me to be reborn!"

"Yaahhh!" yelled Knuckles.

* * *

><p>"Aaahhhh!" yelled Shadow, as he was suddenly blasted away from the Emerald.<p>

Everyone gathered around the black and red hedgehog just stood in shock.

"Shadow!" said Sonic, worried " What happened?"

"Knu…Knuckles" said Shadow, staring at the white mark on his arm " I can't feel him anymore. He's gone,"

And with said, the whole world turned dark.


	9. Chapter 9: Power of a Bond

**Ch.9: Power of a Bond**

Darkness was all Vector's eyes could see as cold fury surged through his heart. The entire warehouse had been lasted, and the Emerald Cannon as well as the Guardians were gone.

Vector barely noticed the ruins that had once been his cage, or the unconscious Charmy that now lay on the floor. All he could think about was Knuckles, and the horrors that he went through.

Staring up to where the echidna hung chained, Vector's somber red eyes peered at the sorry state of his friend. Quiet and still, with barely a breath of life leaving his body.

Ignoring his pain, Vector let out an angry growl, and leapt up at the chains that bound his friend, tearing them fiercely from the brick wall.

As the chains ripped, Knuckles body fell from its binds, and Vector caught the echidna gently with his claws.

For a moment, the croc's eyes scanned his still friend with a sorrowful gleam, threatening tears, when all the sudden Vector felt something go thump under his claw.

It was a heartbeat! Knuckles still had a heartbeat! It was fragile but there.

Hope filled Vector's heart, and relief flowed knowing that his friend was still alive. But how long would this small heartbeat last, before Knuckles breathed in his final breath?

* * *

><p>Worried also about the fate of their friend, Sonic and the others sped their way through the city, following in the trail of Shadow's dust. Espio, who was now conscious, joined them.<p>

After the Master Emerald had blown Shadow away, and the black hedgehog felt his bond with Knuckles begin to grow, Shadow knew that something horrible had happened and was instantly reminded of his dream.

The utter chaos as two forces battled in the sky, and the horrifying image of Knuckles being killed by the Master Emerald's own power.

"That can't happen!" thought Shadow " That's not true!"

Denial was his main ally that moment as he ran. Then, just up ahead, Shadow and the others could make out the burning ruins to had what been Knuckles jail.

The faint, orange embers still glowed brightly in the dark light of a previously sunny day.

A few seconds later, Shadow and everyone else arrived at the site, only to gasp in horror when they saw a beaten Vector kneeling over two forms that had once been his friends.

"Are we to late?" thought Amy in worry, as Shadow approached the cringing croc.

"Charmy's okay" said Vector " but Knuckles,,,he's…he's dying. I don't know what to do,"

Shadow didn't know what to do either and quietly kneeled down by Knuckles side, observing the small breaths the echidna had left to spare.

Sonic and the others stood their distance, eyes threatening to burst into tears. Julie-Su could almost feel their pain, as heavy tension squeezed the air.

Even though Knuckles and the Guardians were enemies in her own dimension, here, Knuckles was a friend. He had people who cared and loved him in many ways. Now Sonic and his friends were going to lose all that.

Knuckles breaths were growing shorter, and his chest rose less and less. It wouldn't be to long until he died.

Shadow racked his brain for ideas, reviewing every lesson Knuckles had ever taught him while in training. He was drawing up blanks, until one conversation sparked his mind.

**(FlashBack)**

"_Ah" said Knuckles, leaning against the altar " That's enough combat skill for now,"_

"_Eventually" said Shadow, joining him " I'm going to find my way past that one move,"_

"_Only when you can read my mind," scoffed Knuckles._

"_Isn't that one of the powers of our bond?" said Shadow, delivering a sinister smirk._

" _Not exactly" said Knuckles, looking up to the sky " We can see each other's visions and thoughts, but not exactly read minds. We can feel when trouble approaches. And we can feel when each other dies,"_

"_That's why you wanted an heir" said Shadow " you don't have a clone to bring you back to life,"_

"_No" said Knuckles solemnly " Guardians don't get a second chance at life unless it is given for them. The power of the bond goes beyond the Master Emerald, and has only been used once in the past. Sing the chant, restore the soul, let life's power flow,"_

**(End FlashBack)**

Staring intently at the white mark glowing on his arm, Shadow looked at Knuckles one last time, before slowly closing his eyes and starting to chant.

Knuckles own mark began to glow along with Shadow's as the hedgehog continued to spat out the ancient phrase that Sonic and the others could barely understand.

The white glow turned into pure energy, shrouding the still echidna in its mystical light.

The short breaths, and the breathing became even. Knuckles could feel his heart revert back to normal speed, as his body flooded with energy, and his eyes opened wide.

He could Shadow sitting next to him, also surrounded by a white glow.

"He's using the bond" thought Knuckles in his mind " I've trained Shadow well,"

Finally, the white glow vanished, and guardian and co-guardian just sat there for a moment, looking proudly into each other's eyes. A ring suddenly broke the mood.

"Sonic!" yelled Eggman's angry voice over the hedgehog's communicator "What do you think you're doing?! While you snoozing everything here has turned into chaos! Even my robots can't keep these beasts at bay!"

"We're on our way," said Sonic.

"Ready for a fight?" said Shadow to Knuckles.

"You bet I am," said Knuckles, and with that said they all rushed off to cease the Guardians terror, once and for all.


	10. Chapter 10: Enerjak's Reign

**Ch.10: Enerjak's Reign**

Chaos tore through the streets of downtown Mobius as the sounds of screams and evil laughter filled the flame-choked air.

Hovering just above the frightened populace, a menacing figure floated. His dark red boy surrounded by a ghoulish, green glow, and his fierce gold armor reflecting terror in the light.

This was the form of Enerjak. The nightmarish version of Knuckles, pure evil to the bone, with an army of equally twisted Guardians trudging beneath his feet.

Following their Master's demands for destruction, the Guardians let out their power full force on the screaming citizens, using Eggman's own Emerald Cannon to help in their rotten agenda.

Dark chaos sung out into the street like arrows, freezing the citizens in their tracks, and transforming them to dust.

Enerjak did worse than that. He was a one echidna wrecking crew. With a wave of his hand, anything he saw could be instantly destroyed. Eggman figured that out the hard way when he sent one of his robots to deal with the echidna.

His EggHawk 5 had been stopped and disintegrated into molecules before the Doctor's unbelieving eyes. So this was the true power of chaos. It was even greater than Eggman could have imagined.

When Sonic and the gang finally got there, they were stunned as well. Not even the invasion of the Black Arms could compare to all the horror they were seeing.

"This is hopeless" said Julie-Su " they're to powerful. Without the Dark Legion's version of Enerjak armor, we won't stand a chance against Knuckles evil half, or the Guardians,"

"And with that Emerald Cannon too" said Vector "We've faced powerful enemies before, but this takes the cake,"

"If we could replicate that armor we may have a chance" said Tails " Julie-Su, do you know what that armor is made of?"

"Well" said Julie-Su " Dr. Frivetous designed it out of the hardest and lightest metal we could find, and then infused those pieces with the Chaos Emeralds power,"

"But if Enerjak is like me" said Knuckles " then he has the power of all the emeralds, not just the chaos,"

"So what?" said Sonic " You think you're going to be fighting him alone? Me and Shadow have chaos powers too,"

"And you've been training Shadow how to control the Master Emerald" said Rouge to Knuckles " so in a way you'll both be able to confront Enerjak,"

"Then its settled" said Sonic " Tails and Julie-Su get to work on that armor. The rest of us will find a way for the Guardians to stop using that cannon,"

"I really think you three should accompany us" said Julie-Su, pointing out to Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles "We'll need help transferring the chaos energy into the armor. Plus, once the armor's complete we won't have to waste time looking for you,"

"But that would leave the rest of us to fight by ourselves!" said Amy.

"So what?" said Vector, glaring at Amy " you think we can't destroy a simple cannon before the others arrive? I saw the thing in action when they blasted Knuckles, we can take care of that! Sonic, leave everything here to us. You guys get ready for the huge fight to come,"

"Right, we'll leave you in charge then Vector" said Sonic " Good luck,"

And with that said, Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles dashed, with Julie-Su and Tails following close behind them.

As soon as they left, Vector called out to his remaining troops and charged them towards the city. The time had come to confront Enerjak.


	11. Chapter 11: Blasting The Cannon

**Ch.11: Blasting The Cannon**

Sneaking and dodging through the smoking ruins of a scorched city, Vector led his team deep to the epicenter of chaos.

The Guardians were still blasting away with the Emerald Cannon, while their boss Enerjak floated from above, reigning down his destruction upon the land.

Sheltered behind a large hunk of stone, Espio's amber eyes gazed towards Vector.

"This isn't going to work" said Espio " If we are seen the Guardians will just blast us. And Enerjak will surely take notice,"

"You're right" said Vector " but there has to be some way to catch the cannon unguarded,"

"Your plan then?" asked Rouge, skeptical that the croc even had one.

Vector closed his eyes and thought for a moment. A million different scenarios seemed to play through his head, most of which could be dismissed right away.

Finally, one idea seemed to spark, and Vector opened up his red eyes with fury.

"I have a plan," said Vector.

Gathering up his team, Vector whispered his idea, and a wicked smile lit up the crocodile's mouth.

"Prepare yourselves Guardians" thought Vector " we're coming for you,"

* * *

><p>Reveling in his malicious work, Enerjak stood clueless of Vector's plan, until that is a little bee decided to give him a buzz.<p>

"Hey Enerjak!" called Charmy mockingly shaking his but " Neener, neener, neeener!"

"Gnat!" growled Enerjak, and aimed one of his energy blasts towards Charmy.

However, before the enraged echidna could even erase Charmy from existence, several stings suddenly glanced off his back. Turning around, Enerjak barely had time to seek the source of the stings when a powerful drill kick suddenly slammed into his chest.

Coming out of her spin, Rouge caught herself in the air and grinned as Enerjak dropped, but her joy didn't last for long.

Glowing in fierce green, and howling in an animalistic rage, Enerjak halted his descent and blasted straight up for Rouge and Charmy.

"Run!" yelled Charmy, and he and Rouge flew off, with Enerjak trailing in hot pursuit.

On the ground, Vector grinned knowing the first phase of his plan was complete. While Charmy and Rouge handled Enerjak, and the Guardians were confused about their leader's disappearance, he, Espio, and amy could now sneak in and grab the controls for the cannon.

Sneaking in like shadows, the trio carefully approached where the Guardians were. And once they were about three feet away, Vector gave the signal to spring.

Jumping out of the ruins, Vector and the charged, taking the Guardians by surprise. Espio tackled Spectre while Amy handled Remington. Vector however, went for the big prize, Knuckles alternate dad.

Each Guardian proved equally difficult to take down, given that still had the powers of their dark emerald flowing through their veins. It took Amy's hammer, Vector's strength, and all Espio's ninja skills to take the trio down.

"Whew!" breathed Vector, once Locke was unconious " that was a tough. Better hurry up with the cannon Espio, who knows how soon Enerjak will be back,"

Hopping up to the controls, Espio applied his expert hacking skills upon the Emerald Cannon and exposed it core to let the glowing brilliance of the black Master Emerald shard shine on through.

"Good work Espio!" said Vector, then reached to pull out the shard.

As soon as his claws touched the emerald though, a powerful energy surge shocked his scales and blasted him away.

"Vector!" called Espio in worry, as the croc landed on the ground " Are you alright?"

"I think so" said Vector, sitting up " that was quite a shock,"

"The core must be booby-trapped" said Espio " I'll have to find some way around…,"

"Well, well" came a sinister voice from up above, interrupting Espio " what do we have here?"

Looking up in horror, Vector, Amy, and Espio's eyes noticed that Enerjak had returned, and clutched in sinister hands were the beaten forms of both Charmy and Rouge. Vector growled when he saw the two's condition.

"You monster!" Vector yelled.

"Thank you," said Enerjak, dropping Charmy and Rouge to the ground. Espio immediately raced out to catch them.

"Now" said Enerjak smiling " Which one of you wants to be next?"

"Take this you big bully!" yelled Amy, now sitting at the controls of the Emerald Cannon. Pressing one of the buttons, Amy aimed the barrel at Enerjak and fired.

A big blast of chaos energy exploded from the cannon's mouth and speeded straight towards Enerjak, blasting the dark echidna with electrifying force.

A scream of pain tore the air as Enerjak cried out, and Amy smiled, thinking her plan had worked. But her spirits died when the sound of vicious laughter echoed through the night.

"Hahaha!" laughed Enerjak, his entire body surrounded in a green glow " Yes! Thanks for the boost!"

Thrusting out his chest, a large explosion suddenly engulfed the whole region, striking Vector and the others with devastating force. When the light, the croc and his friends lay severely injured on the ground, suffering from multiple injuries.

"Where are the others?" thought Vector weakly as he struggled to stay awake. "Haven't they completed the armor? Are we going to die?"

And at that last question, Vector blacked out.


	12. Chapter 12: Facing Enerjak

**Ch.12: Facing Enerjak**

"Alright" said Julie-Su, as she stared at the glowing pieces of metal lying on the ground " That should do it. You guys can cut off the energy flow now,"

That said, Shadow and Knuckles slowly lowered their arms down by their sides, and the chanting died on their lips. The Master Emerald that had been glowing like a fierce light before, had now settled down to a steady throb.

"So this is the armor?" asked Sonic.

"Yes" said Julie-Su " only these two should be even more powerful since we have the Master Emerald charging them up this time. Last time we only had a small sample of its positive power, the Chaos Emeralds,"

"So Shad and Knux get to be cloaked in armor while I'm stuck relying on Super form," said Sonic.

"That's basically the jist" said Julie-Su.

"Sounds like a challenge to me" said Sonic " I'll keep Enerjak busy while you guys gear up. See you at the battlefield!"

"Sonic!" Knuckles cried as the hedgehog " Ah, he never sticks around to think,"

"And you're surprised?" said Shadow, picking up some of the armor "He's got the emeralds so he should be fine. Now come on, put on your suit so we can bring this dark you down,"

"I'll get the X Tornado ready with Julie-Su to provide some cover fire" said Tails, as Shadow and Knuckles put on the armor " Good luck you guys. Take him down!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Enerjak smiled wickedly at the fallen resistance before him. Bruised, beaten, and lying helpless in the ruins of the street. The Guardians they had beaten in battle earlier soon revived into consciousness, confused about just what went on.<p>

"Mortals fall by the power of my hand!" proclaimed Enerjak, turning his magic onto the unconious Vector, lifting him up until they were face to face " And you shall be next to die!"

"I wouldn't count on that pal!" cried out a sudden voice, making Enerjak turn around.

Before the villain could even blink, a speeding blue blur crashed into him, releasing his magical hold upon Vector. Swirling over to catch the croc before he reached the ground, Sonic caught Vec, and then glared maliciously over at the quartet of villians standing before him. Anger radiated all through his fur.

As if feeling the hedgehog's fury, slowly Vector's eyes began to flicker open, and looked upon the blue hedgehog with both surprise and relief.

"Sonic…" mumbled Vector, before he blacked out again " It's about time,"

"Rest easy buddy" said Sonic, lying Vector on the ground "I'll take care of these creeps!"

"Do your best and try!" said Enerjak " Guardians Attack!"

With that said, Locke, Remington, and Specture rushed in and attacked Sonic with all their might, while the hedgehog just yawned and dodged every strike that came his way. Compared to some of his other opponents, these bozos wouldn't even place in his top ten. It was so obvious that they had never fought an adversary that possessed extraordinary speed. And that was a flaw Sonic sought to exploit.

Locke and the others continued trying to blast Sonic, but got even more frustrated with each and every miss. Enerjak looked upon his Guardians disappointed that such an easy opponent was having a joyful time evading every inch of their wrath.

"Time to step in," he thought.

But, before Enerjak could even raise a hand to the situation, a new fighter entered the play, soaring the sky like a metal hawk on steroids. Tails and Julie-Su had arrived, with the X Tornado at clear disposal.

"Take this!" said Tails, firing his weapons.

Bullets of white hot energy buzzed their way over to Enerjak, sailing to blast the dark-looking straight out the sky. Enerjak looked at the meaningless projectiles with a bored tone, and simply stared, making the bullets stop and boomerang back to their point of origin, Tail's plane.

Seeing his plan backfire, Tails swiftly guided the X Tornado through a series of rolls, dodging every bullet that zipped past. Julie-Su clutched tightly to her seat as Tail's rolled, not wanting to fall out of the plane.

The danger of the bullets soon passed, only to be replaced by another danger, Enerjak raising his palm right at them!

"So long!" whispered Enerjak, his hand taking on a greenish glow.

"No!" shouted Sonic, looking up from his battle with the Guardians.

The blast fired and struck the X Tornado point blank, ripping it into shards. Sonic's eyes welled up with horror at the sight of seeing the plane, and gritted his teeth in anger as he backed away from Locke's punch. The time had come to take action!

Leaping to a place where he was sure the Guardians would have trouble getting to, Sonic summoned out the Chaos Emeralds he had brought with him, and let them circle around his body with their colorful glow.

Gold light started beaming off his blue fur, making the Guardians stand back with awe and surprise, as he ascended to his Super form. Taking off like a golden comet, Super Sonic blasted into the sky, flying straight towards Enerjak.

A sly smile lit across Enerjak's lips as he saw Super Sonic rush towards him.

"Finally" he thought, getting ready to fight " a challenge comes my way,"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, having survived the explosion of the X Tornado, an exhausted Tails descended to the ground with Julie-Su clutched tightly in his palms. No doubt if they had waited any longer to escape, they would be dust.<p>

After reaching solid ground, the first thing on Tails mind was the condition of their fallen comrades. Rouge and Charmy looked gravely injured, while Vector and the rest appeared slightly conscious. Their small resistance against Enerjak and his Guardians obviously had their toll.

"Look!" said Julie-Su, directing the fox's attention upwards, and Tails could see Super Sonic and Enerjak starting their fight.

"Please Sonic" Tails prayed "Please stop him,"

* * *

><p>In the air, two great forces clashed, one holding dark, infinite power, while the other wielded the power of chaos. Super Sonic would lunge in one attack while Enerjak countered, the two were nearly an equal match.<p>

"This is getting dull" said Enerjak, as Sonic shot another Chaos Bolt his way " you may have mastered using all seven Chaos Emeralds, but they are only a small part to true power. I control the Master Emerald itself, so the power of Chaos is also mine,"

With that said, the Emerald Cannon on the ground suddenly broke apart, and the dark Master Emerald shard floated up until it hovered right behind Sonic, casting its evil glow.

"The servers are the seven chaos" chanted Enerjak, making Super Sonic stop in shock, hearing Knuckles familiar chant " Chaos is power enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the chaos. And I command it to merge with my will!"

Something horrible happened as soon as the chant was complete. Everything around seemed to change. The sky grew dark and stormy, shooting off yellow lightning blasts that tore up the dirt and buildings below.

The Guardians who had eager to please their Master, groaned in pain, screaming wails of torture as their bodies transformed into smoke, and were hungrily absorbed into Enerjak's soul.

Super Sonic also felt something strange. Caught in between Enerjak and the shard's casting, the chaos energy empowering his every move seemed to change, sending his body into uncontrollable convulsions.

"What's…" Sonic spoke harshly " going on?"

"Sonic!" called out Knuckles voice, as he and Super Shadow sped towards the scene in armor.

"Guys….Aaahhh!" Sonic suddenly cried out in pain, and then his whole world went white.

Both Shadow and Knuckles had to hide their eyes away from the flash, but when their vision was once again clear, eyes could not hold their shock. Floating alone, a super-charged Enerjak stood smiling menacingly in the air, the dark Master Emerald shard planted straight in his chest.

No one else stood where he was. Super Sonic was gone!


	13. Chapter 13: Guardians Unite!

**Ch.13: Guardians Unite!**

Shadow and Knuckles could hardly believe the sight lying before their eyes. Spiking ruby red with energy, a newly evolved Enerjak stood hovering before them transformed. Flames danced off his knuckled fists, radiating with the dark shard now lodged in his crest. His golden-violet stared down at Knuckles and Shadow, smirking out a hideous grin that promised nothing but death to come.

"You think you can stop me?" said Enerjak snidely " You're welcome to try!"

And with that said, he attacked, lifting up his palms, and delivering bullets of chaos energy straight at Shadow and Knuckles. Powered both by chaos and the armor they now wore, Shadow and Knuckles easily managed to avoid the assault, although a few fragments from the blast came dangerously close to hitting their mark.

"This is going to be difficult" said Knuckles, dodging through the blasts " I don't know what he did to Sonic or the Guardians he brought with him, but it's easy to see that's he has grown more powerful,"

"Just keep focused on we can beat him" said Shadow " if strength alone won't do it, we need to think of something else,"

"There's nothing you can do" claimed Enerjak " the souls I've absorbed increase my strength ten fold. You both shall die here,"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, inside Enerjak's body, Super Sonic woke up to the strange sensation of being chained. Looking around, his red eyes glimpsed at his unnatural surroundings, while his golden arms tugged at the tendrils binding him in place.<p>

Finally, after a few seconds of powerful tugging, Super Sonic broke himself loose from the strands, and landed upon the ground feeling exhausted and drained. Quickly, his mind flashed back to the last few seconds of the fight.

"Where am I?" said Sonic " Enerjak pulled some kind of move, and now I…,"

"Hahaha!" laughed a voice, coming out of the shadows " It's good to see you're awake,"

With that said, Locke, Remington, and Specture suddenly appeared. Their bodies seemed almost to be misted, but the power radiated was still fierce. Preparing for the inevitable, Super Sonic got into a fighting stance. There was no question in his mind that he would have to battle his way out of here.

"So you guys got sucked here too," said Sonic.

"We are all a part of are Master now" said Specture " We and Enerjak are one. Boosting his power past the infinite, there is no way to stop us now,"

" You're added energy is just a bonus for my son" said Locke " Your Knuckles doesn't possess half the strength to take Enerjak down,"

"Don't bet on it!" said Sonic " Knuckles and Shadow may just surprise you,"

With that said, Sonic charged in, determined to take the Guardians down.

* * *

><p>Back in the fight with Enerjak, Shadow and Knuckles were struggling badly. Heavy breathes escaped from their mouths as the punched, kicked, and shot Enerjak with all their might, but Knuckles dark alter-self still refused to go down in defeat.<p>

"I think I have a plan" said Knuckles, looking at Shadow " It's going to be risky, but it should work. Sneak behind him, and when the time comes, blow him full force!"

"Got it!" said Shadow, removing the golden bracelets from his gloves "Let's take him down!"

That said, Knuckles rushed in, delivering a massive assault against Enerjak, calling on the power of his armor to help boost the blasts, as he grappled with Enerjak head on. Enerjak seemed almost amused by this strategy as he greatly countered each one of Knuckles blows. This other him was pathetic, barely a challenge to his superb strength.

Backing away from another blow, Enerjak was about to unleash a counterattack, when he suddenly felt his arms freeze in the air, seized by another's hand. Shadow had succeeded in getting in close, and with his rings gone, his entire black body surged red with power.

"Chaos Blast!" shouted Shadow, and the whole sky lit up with the fury of a bomb.

"That had to have done it!" said Vector, from the ground.

"I don't think so," said Espio.

"Look!" shouted Charmy.

When the red light from the Chaos Blast vanished, stunned eyes could barely believe the sight standing before them. Enerjak was still alive, and largely unhurt. He had not only survived the Chaos Blast, but he now had the exhausted Shadow's neck held tightly in his hand, leaving the now, black and red hedgehog with little room to breathe.

"Shadow!" shouted Knuckles concerned.

"Weaklings!" stated Enerjak, throwing Shadow to the ground "Worthless Weaklings! I am the most powerful being ever formed. No one can stand against me!"

"We'll see about that!" said Knuckles, angrily, and charged in to attack.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back inside Enerjak's body, Super Sonic was having a hard time against the Guardians. Being one with Enerjak now, made them harder to beat than before. With just a thought, they could travel from place to place in this nightmare, and blast Sonic from behind.<p>

Just now having figured out their pattern, Super Sonic used his speed to his advantage and delivered a massive strike of his own, knocking out Remington with one hit, and sending Specture through the loop.

Only Locke remained, and he was the toughest one of them all. It was apparent where Knuckles gained his fierce fighting skills, his father was no joke, even if this one was from a totally different dimension.

"Give it up Sonic" said Locke, pointing his hand over in the darkness, making the dark emerald shard shine and make its presence known "As long as the heart pumps, the beast cannot be slain. Shadow has fallen, and Knuckles will be next. None have the power to stop us,"

The blackness of the shard seemed to clear for a minute giving Sonic a good view of what was happening outside. There, on the ground, a beaten Shadow struggled to stand, surrounded by his friends, while Knuckles continued to duel with Enerjak above. Sonic could tell that he was nearly loosing steam.

"Need more energy," was Knuckles crying thought.

Shock suddenly came as a green bolt of chaos energy sliced through Knuckles chest, making the echidna's eyes glass over in pain. Blood spurted out of Knuckles mouth as his Hyper form died and he rapidly fell, crashing into the rough ruins that lay below.

"Knuckles!" shouted Sonic, not believing the sight " No!"

And the golden light around him surged.

* * *

><p>Back in reality, Shadow didn't know what to make of the sight himself. It all seemed like a horrible vision. The vision that had plagued him before this whole adventure began. Knuckles killed, by the Master Emerald's own power.<p>

"Knuckles" said Shadow, running over to see his friend " Come on, you can't do this now,"

The armor was supposed to help! Be the tool they used to defeat Enerjak! But it was that very tool Enerjak used to push Knuckles very own power against him.

When Knuckles and Shadow had attacked Enerjak before, little did they know that Enerjak had been storing up all the chaos from their attacks and stored them into his emerald shard, ready to released into one big blast that would kill them in an instant.

Shadow had the fortunate luck to be safely on the ground when blast finally occurred, but for Knuckles, there was no room to escape.

Red eyes gazing down at the still form of his friend, Shadow was tempted to use the bond's power again to revive Knuckles and increase his breath. But, as if Knuckles suddenly sensed what Shadow had in mind, a sharp breath escaped from Knuckles mouth, and his violet orbs locked onto Shadow's eyes.

"No" said Knuckles " if you use it again, there's no telling how it will turn out. We need to combine our remaining strength to take down Enerjak,"

"But how?" asked Shadow " the armor failed. We'd need a miracle to survive right now,"

"One miracle coming up!" a voice seemed to shout through their heads.

"Sonic?" Shadow and Knuckles wondered at once.

"Wha?!" shouted Enerjak surprised, arms wrapping around his chest "What's happening?!"

From the dark emerald shard, a golden beam of light suddenly shot out, consuming Shadow and Knuckles, and filling both Guardians with glorious new energy.

"Bonds as one…" said Knuckles.

"We stand together!" finished Shadow, and then he and Knuckles joined hands.

A huge, golden flash of light occurred, stunning Enerjak from above. His dark eyes hardly believing the sight before him.

The flash suddenly gathered in one spot and shot straight up in the air, knocking back Enerjak with a forceful punch. Surprised at how much pain had occurred, Enerjak angrily turned to face down his foe, eyes widening in surprise as he beheld a creature he had never seen.

Joined together for the first, Shadow and Knuckles new form shined like a beacon in the beacon in the darkness. Sharp, red eyes glared at Enerjak dangerously, as one of Shadux's knuckled fists brushed past the golden dreadlocks on his side. Shadow's spines and Knuckles bent-shaped tail made up the back of Shadux's form, while Shadow's clothing, and Knuckles crest finished up the whole look.

"Now" said Shadux " let's play!"


	14. Chapter 14: A Curse Shattered

**Ch.14: A Curse Shattered**

"Wow," said Vector, looking up at the sky where Shadux and Enerjak now hovered.

"You said it Vec," said Espio, agreeing with the crocodile.

" Knuckles and Shadow have fused together," said Tails, amazed.

"Alright!" shouted Amy with joy " Now we'll really bring that creep down!"

* * *

><p>Inside Enerjak's body, the Guardians who were facing off against a now, regualar Sonic couldn't believe their eyes. Locke growled and turned his eyes hatefully on the blue hedgehog.<p>

"What have you done?!" he asked.

"Just gave our side a fighting chance" said Sonic, grinning " I wouldn't bet on your son now,"

* * *

><p>Enerjak could barely believe what was happening himself. Never had he'd seen such a merge. Endless power seemed to emit from new being before him, and the promise of victory seemed dim before his eyes.<p>

"Me first!" said Shadux, speeding in to deliver a knock-out punch right at Enerjak's cheek.

The dark echidna fell backwards from the blow, before regaining control in the air. A barrage of attacks came next, striking the dark being with multiple hits, before Shadux paused up behind the echidna to let out a rain of Chaos Spears.

Reacting instantly to the golden arrows flying towards him, Enerjak summoned his powers to bring up a shield and defend, surviving the assault by only a hair's breath.

Glowing black with anger, Enerjak unleashed his own Chaos Blast in order to knock Shadux out of the sky, but by using the powers of Chaos Control, Shadux managed to dodge and survive the deadly attack, moving in for another strike.

Now fully enraged, Enerjak smirked and disappeared using the power of Chaos Control as well to deliever his own attacks against Shadux, leaving the hedgehog/echinda badly beaten by the time he reappeared.

"No!" shouted the auidence from the ground, as Shadux was suddenly blasted by a Chaos Spear.

"Uh!" grumbled Shadux, smashing hard into a building wall, fighting to keep up his strength.

"Come on Shadow" cried Knuckles voice from inside of Shadux's mind " We have to get up! We can't let this creep win!"

"I know" said Shadow in response " but he's figuring out our moves. If we don't find a way to destroy him soon, then I'd hate to think what's next,"

Slowly Shadux opened his eyes from the pain, and looked at the dark echidna floating before him, the dark stone in his chest brimming with unnatural power that promised to burn the world to ash.

"That's it!" thought Shadow and Knuckles at the same time, their fighting spirit suddenly renewed.

Darting out of the wall at Sonic speed, Shadux sped past Enerjak and let out another rain of Chaos Spears to bring the echidna harm. Enerjak responded with a rain of his own, intercepting the gold spears, with his own dark spears, making them explode in the sky.

The air was filled with fierce light as the two moves clashed, and as the light faded, and the sky became clear again, Enerjak was met with the sudden shock that Shadux was now barely four feet away from him, with a sphere of green chaos energy charging in palms.

There was nowhere for the echidna to run as Shadux unleashed his finishing move.

"Master Spear!" called Shadux, piercing straight through Enerjak with his attack, shattering the shard connected to his heart.

A cry of pain shouted as darkness receded from the echidna's face, returning to it's normal, red color as he plummeted lifelessly towards the ground. Orbs of energy flew out from the echidna as he fell, transforming back into the poor souls he had absorbed to gain power. The Guardians returned, as did Sonic.

The fight now over, Shadux split once again back into the two beings from which he was forged, and walked over to join the others in celebration for their victory.

Amy clomped onto Sonic almost instantly, yelling and crying that she was happy he was alive. Vector and the rest congradulated Shadow and Knuckles for a job well done, while Julie-Su walked over to the Guardians who seemed confused by their current state.

"How...where..." said Remington, looking around " What happened?"

"I'm not sure," said Specture, just as confused.

"My son!" shouted Locke, looking at his Knuckles lifeless form "What happened to him?"

"You don't remember?" asked Julie-Su, staring at the Guardians.

"No I..." started Locke, then stopped, all the memories suddenly flooding back to his mind " Yes, I do now. It's all our fault. We caused this to happen to my son,"

"The experiments with the Master Emerald turned us all Locke" said Specture, finally realizing the situation " We all lost our control,"

Locke barely listened as he continued to cry over Knuckles lifeless form, making the only other alive Knuckles and his group look down upon the Guardians in pity before Julie-Su turned to them to speak.

"I'll take them home" said Julie-Su sadly "Thank you all for your help. Perhaps we will see each other again one day,"

With that said, Sonic and his group said goodbye and left, leaving Julie-Su and the Guardians behind to deal with their loss. Only a single pair of violet eyes looked back to the sad scene, shedding tears of his own as he and Shadow walked back to guard the Floating Island. The memory of this adventure assuring to never leave his mind, for a long, long time.

**The End**


End file.
